one of the reasons i love greek food (or any mediterranean cuisine for that matter) so much is the simplicity of the cooking. everything is so fresh, especially the seafood. i adore whole freshly grilled fish doused with good olive oil and lemon juice. there is this baked shrimp dish that combines sweet shrimp with tomatoes, oregano, and a healthy portion of feta baked until the feta browns. briny, shrimp sweet, and tomato fresh...it is fantastic with a greek white and a hunk of bread.

htipiti (hee-tee-pee-tee)...i think is what it's called...is one of my favorite dips/sauces/yummy luscious things...and it was terribly easy to whip up in the food processor...a hunk of feta processed while you drizzle in AMPLE amounts of olive oil and lemon juice until it's a big ocean of white. add black pepper and a slick of more olive oil to serve and dip raw veggies.

at a greek restaurant, i had the best braised lamb shank...so tender it fell not ino hunks, but beautiful little shreds. it soaked up this incredibly aromatic tomato-cinnamon sauce and was served over a bit of capellini (dont know how greek that is). the waiter suggested a side of the owner's backyard greens to go with it...simply steam and dressed with olive oil. we added our own desired amount of salt and as much lemon as we could muster. sucking our fingers clean of the tart lemon and getting a nice crunch from the sea salt in between bites was phenomenal.

i'm sorry that i don't know the greek words for this meal...in any language though...yum.